Baby Diary: 8 Months Old

Ok seriously, where is the time going? As you get older the time just seems to be going faster. I really wish I could hit pause for a while and savour every single moment. You have learnt an insane amount this month which I will mention on your milestones. You astound us on a daily basis, you incredible being you!

Character

You are a very cheeky and smiley baby but you are currently going through your 8 month leap (which I have found the toughest leap to date.) I've found with this leap you do have more off days than usual. On these off days you want to be attached to my hip, are rather whiny and can't entertain yourself for longer than 2 minutes. It's no surprise though as this leap is not only the most difficult but you have learnt so much in such a short amount of time so it's no wonder you are feeling rather cranky some days!

SizeYou are still wearing 6-9m clothing but I think you will be in the next size up in babygrows by the time I write your 9 month update. You are also still wearing size 3 nappies but I am thinking of moving up into the 4's in the next week or two. I still need to get you weighed but it's rather difficult at the minute being between houses. You are still long and skinny but you are solid weight. I can't believe how big you are becoming.

Health

The day you turned 7 months you woke up with your very first cold which I documented on your 7 month update. I was hoping it was going to be a quick and easy cold but it ended up turning into a nasty chest infection and conjunctivitis. You were prescribed antibiotics and eye drops for it. It took a good two weeks for you to recover fully. Other than that you have been okay other than the occasional constipation. We also have no teeth yet and no issues with teething.

Feeding

You are still a huge foodie! You get so excited when I put you in your high chair, you sit there bouncing in your chair until you see your meal coming. You are having three meals a day; breakfast, lunch and dinner. You have a varied diet with lots of fruit and veg. You prefer to feed yourself so we now spoon feed you some foods but offer finger foods with every meal too. At the minute you adore strawberries, tomatoes and cheese but there isn't much that you don't.

You have x4 5oz bottles of milk a day. Morning, before lunch, afternoon and night. We are trying to bring the morning bottle later so we can eliminate the before lunch bottle. You were having 3 bottles a day but since living with the inlaws and sleeping in a very bright room you have been waking up at the crack of dawn for a bottle.

You drink between 6oz or 9oz of very diluted juice a day too. I am currently giving it to you in a bottle as I have misplaced all your sippy cups in the move. I need to either find what we have done with them or buy some new ones.

Sleep

As I said in the 7 month update we have been struggling since we moved in with your Grandparents (still waiting to get into our new home) The room is very bright and hot in the mornings and you aren't a fan of the travel cot. I end up bringing you into bed with me but it's just a queen bed and you are taking up so much space these days! I think you are missing being in your cot. Hopefully we will be in our new house in the next few weeks and we can get you back into the habit of being in your own cot. Time wise you usually sleep 8pm - 8am but not through. Sometimes you wake at 2am, sometimes 4am and sometimes 6am. Sometimes once a night and sometimes twice. You've only started waking so much since the 8 month leap begun. It's like you are newborn again.

Milestones

- Sitting. I now feel I can leave you sitting unaided and don't worry about you falling. I do still put cushions behind you thought just in case. You also reach right across for toys whilst you are sitting and quickly regain your balance.

- Crawling. You aren't crawling just yet but you can now hold all your weight on all fours. I was amazed that you could do this because although you have always had a lot of strength in your legs you haven't in your arms. I don't think you will crawl for a while though and have a feeling that you will be a bum shuffler.

- Vocal. You have become even more vocal this month. You say baba a lot, mainly when you are upset! I would love to know what that means to you. You have said mama a few times but when I ask you to say it you shake your head and smile, you little tinker!

- Feeding. You can now hold your own bottle but you are still rather lazy with it and prefer me to do it for you. You also grab the spoon to attempt to feed yourself.

- No. You now shake your head side to side. Only sometimes though and I do wonder if you know what it means as you do seem to do it in context a lot of the time!

- Movement. You seem to be reaching for everything and anything now and really contort your body in all sorts of ways to do so. Only really when you are sat up or led on your back though as you still hate to be led on your stomach. You also do a reverse "worm" to move across the floor! It's so funny to watch you do it, it's like you are thrusting!

- Clapping. You now clap your hands when we clap, say "clap hands" or if there is something you like. I had been trying to teach you how to clap for a while and the day you did it back my heart literally melted.

- Standing. You can walk in your walker and have begun holding your weight up against the sofa for 30 seconds at a time. We are going to be practicing standing against furniture a lot this month to see how you get on.

- Understanding. You seem to have such a great understanding of words. Bok bok, milk, juice, hiya, mama, dada, tree's, light. We now say "Where's the light?" or "Where are the tree's?" and you will look directly at them. You little clever clogs!

- Dancing. If you are sitting up and music comes on sometimes you will bop up and down to the tune. Sometimes you will dance and clap at the same time. Absolutely adorable!

Things you like

- SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS. You still love good old Spongebob.

- Feeding yourself.

- Gadgets. Mobile phones, ipads, remote controls. Why is it that babies always want to play with things you would rather them not? Even when you buy toy mobile phones or remotes they always seem to know that it's just a toy and aren't interested!

- Sitting and playing. You love to sit with all your toys in front of you and it's so fascinating to watch you play.

- Trollies. You sat in the big boy seat of a trolley for the first time this month. You beam from ear to ear and become very giddy when you are sat in one. I think you are relishing being able to do more things now.

- Having your nappy changed.

- FOOD!

- Being giddy!

- Swings! Another first for this month was sitting in the swing. Another thing you now love!

Things you don't like

- Having your face wiped.

- Having something taken off you.

- Sleep. You used to love sleeping so much but we now wake frequently throughout the night. I am hoping it's the leap and you will go back to your old ways.

We love you so much Noah Noo Noo! Lets hope this month doesn't pass us by so quickly!